Tonjua Williams, Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs at the College, says Gordon’s deep roots in the community will be valuable as the college continues to expand its offerings. “Kevin grew up here, and he knows the community,” Williams said. “He’s passionate about education at all levels and is uniquely positioned to help students of all ages and needs reach their goals.” Both Williams and Gordon, along with others like Dr. Linda Hogans, are working to increase the school’s recruitment of students from lowincome backgrounds, especially black males. As a part of their community outreach effort, the College now offers a five week summer camp for disadvantaged high school students, at the end of which students receive a $500 stipend. The program is backed by Junior Achievement and Pinellas County Schools. “The College Experience” orientation is another way to support student success. New students meet with their advisors to develop a learning plan which maps out courses based on a career assessment that indicates where each student is most likely to excel. The program is enhanced by out-of-class tutoring. Gordon firmly believes that success in college should be purposefully formulated by each student, especially working adults and parents. “Students should look at all
the things they have going on in their lives to determine their course load. If they have children, a job, or parents to care for, they need to take all of this into consideration and manage accordingly.”
His advice to people considering higher education: “Prepare yourself to be successful. Don’t hurry through your education; don’t take four classes when you can only handle three. Develop a work plan for as long as it takes.”
Dr. Gordon has a bachelor’s in economics from Florida State University and a master’s in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University. He completed his doctorate in educational leadership at the University of South Florida in 2011. 40 | Power Broker magazine
SPC Closing the College Success Gap The January 2014 meeting of the St. Petersburg College Board of Trustees celebrated strong results in closing the “success rate” gap for minority students. Jesse Coraggio, Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness, Research, and Grants, reported that initiatives to improve support for students appear to be paying off. Success rates — the number of students who complete a course with an A, B or C — increased for a third semester in a row during Fall Semester 2013; and increased most markedly for African American males in comparison to white and Latino men. Black males saw their success rate rise by nearly 14 percentage points while Latino males’ success rate climbed by 6.5 points and whites males improved by 5.